Counting rings is the tried and true method for determining the age of a tree. Dendrochronology is the science of counting tree rings to determine tree age and to identify extreme and unique environmental events. Scientists use certain trees, such as bristlecone 
pine, that have slow growth rates and live for a very long time, to map out long sequences of weather patterns. These sequences are use to compare to known events, and to help develop base lines for carbon dating. In some regions dendrochronologists have more than 10,000 years sequenced. There are some problems with counting rings. Some of them surmountable and some not.
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